Another story written a while ago - prompted and beta'd by SkitsMix.

A Study of Feline Behavior

"After scolding one's cat one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it understood every word. And has filed it for reference." - Charlotte Gray

"Thirty-nine...forty...forty-one…" Mikey's quiet counting was just audible over the sounds of Leo and Don sparring. Raph carefully breathed in and out as he continued bench-pressing. Mikey stood behind him at his head, a vague green blur just within Raph's line of sight as he spotted his brother.

"Forty-five...forty-six…"

"Mew!"

Raph's startled intake of breath caught in his throat and he nearly dropped the barbell as Klunk leapt out of nowhere to land on his stomach. Mikey's hands flashed out and caught the weight bar before it thumped onto his brother's chest.

"Mikey…" Raph growled, arms shaking a little with effort as he shoved the bar up and away from his body. Mikey took the barbell and set it carefully on the ground, then reached out and scooped Klunk off of Raph before the irritated turtle could push him off.

"Klunky, we've talked about this!" he said, nuzzling noses with his cat. He looked down at his glowering brother. "Heh, sorry 'bout that, Raph."

"Yeah, whatever," Raph said, waving the apology away. "I was almost done with the set anyway. You wanna switch?"

Mikey set Klunk down, scritching his ears as the cat rubbed against his leg. "Nah, I'm good. I was gonna do some pull-ups."

"Okay. Call me whenever you need a spot." Raph moved over to the floor mats and got set to do push-ups. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Mikey jump to grab hold of the pull-up bar. Klunk trotted after him, hovering underneath to swat at Mikey's toes every time he lowered himself towards the floor. Raph smirked a bit in amusement, but soon turned his focus inward as he resumed his workout.

He soon settled into a rhythm - but it wasn't long before he felt the penetrating, curious stare of the cat resting on him again. He couldn't see Klunk, but he knew he was there all the same. He didn't pause in his movements, fixing his gaze stubbornly on the mat below him. It did not come as much of a surprise when, a few moments later, he felt the slight impact as Klunk jumped onto his carapace.

Raph allowed himself a slight, resigned sigh, but kept going. Klunk barely weighed ten pounds, and the added weight was hardly enough to bother him. Just as long as the little hairball sat still…

Fwoosh! A white-socked paw darted past his head as Klunk batted at the mask tails that hung forward over his shoulder, dangling toward the ground. Raph gritted his teeth, concentrating on keeping his body straight as he lowered himself toward the ground and pushed himself back up again.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

"Okay, fuzzball, that's gonna stop." Raphael held himself off the ground with one arm while reaching up with the other, scooping up the cat and depositing him firmly but gently on the mat beside him. "Stay off my shell," he said, pointing a commanding finger at the whiskered nose. He could hear Mikey snickering somewhere behind him, but he didn't look around. Instead he gave Klunk one last careful nudge with the back of his hand to get him out of the way and went back to his push-ups.

Klunk didn't try to jump onto his shell again. Instead, the cat circled around to sit a few feet in front of him, watching him unblinkingly.

Raph ignored him.

Klunk did not like being ignored.

As Raphael straightened his arms again, Klunk flopped on the floor below him. He rolled onto his back, grabbing at the dangling mask tails with both front paws and biting at the red fabric.

Raph growled as Mikey burst out laughing. He dropped out of position to kneel on the ground, bending forward to pry his mask out of Klunk's mouth. Mikey's laughter had caught Leo and Don's attention, and he could hear Don laughing, too.

"Raph, we're supposed to be training. You can play with Klunk later." Leo's voice was stern, but he couldn't hide the undercurrent of amusement rippling underneath his words. Raphael finally tugged his mask free, turning to pin Leo with a glare that would bore a hole through concrete. Leo started to laugh, unable to keep a straight face any longer.

Raphael stood, adjusting his mask where Klunk had pulled it slightly askew. "I'm goin' for a run." He gave the cat one last narrow-eyed glare before heading out - lightly socking Mikey on the shoulder as he passed by to let him know he wasn't really upset.

He headed topside and bounded from rooftop to rooftop until the first gray light of dawn crept into the eastern sky, then slipped down into the sewers and jogged back home. By the time he entered the lair, he was dripping with sweat, and his legs were spattered with dirt from the knees down from running through puddles in the sewer tunnels.

Mikey and Leo were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, embroiled in an epic battle of Super Smash Brothers.

"Ha!" Mikey crowed. "Take that!" Leo growled in frustration as his fighter, Link, was zapped by lightning from Mikey's Pikachu.

Don sat in the corner of the couch, dividing his attention between his laptop and the screen. He glanced over his shoulder as Raph entered, giving his brother a smile. "Hey, welcome back!"

"You were gone a while," Leo said. "Good run?"

Raph shrugged. "No cats."

Mikey rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, Link's sword smacked into Pikachu and sent the bright yellow mouse flying. Mikey let out an indignant squawk and elbowed Leo in the side while he waited for his player to recover. "Not fair!"

"How is that not fair?" Leo demanded. "You've zapped me into outer space three times already!"

Raph huffed a laugh and headed off to grab a snack and a shower. When he returned to the main living area, his brothers were in the same spots where he had left them. He dropped onto the couch with a sigh, stretching out on his side to watch Link and Pikachu battle to the death. His eyelids grew heavier, and he didn't notice when his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

He woke up an indeterminate amount of time later. The TV was off and the lights had been dimmed, and someone had covered him with the blanket from the back of the couch. Briefly, he considered getting up and going to bed, but the effort didn't seem to be worth it. He pulled the blanket a little closer and settled in.

"Mew!"

Raphael blinked his eyes open as he felt Klunk hop up beside him. The cat nosed his way under the blanket, nestling in the warm spot against his chest. Raph sighed drowsily, a soft smile touching his mouth. He gently ruffled the soft ears and closed his eyes again, allowing the contented thrum of Klunk's purr to lull him to sleep.